Aptec Widens Client Base
Includes Equipment Manufacturers
With effect from April 2023, Aptec is ready to offer comprehensive engineering services for slaughterhouses and related projects either in association with principal equipment vendors or as a consultant deputed by the promoter of the project, which-ever side first approaches and enters into an agreement with Aptec for a specific project.
In this respect, Aptec’s services will exclude active marketing/selling/canvassing for a specific project on behalf of the vendor it associates with for the purpose of that project. The vendor shall, however, be within his rights to mention before and during the negotiation stage, to the potential buyer, the specific agreement he has entered into with Aptec.
However, if during or after such negotiations, should the project promoter then insist on directly retaining the services of Aptec for the project, his wishes shall prevail.
Such an agreement will be entered into by Aptec on a first-come-first-served basis. Nor will association with one vendor imply any continuity to subsequent projects.
Does this imply that Aptec is hoarding, reserving or ensuring commercial benefit for itself by setting up a competition? No. Because Aptec uses a standard man-day costing fee and billing structure for all its consulting services – regardless to whom it sells such services. There is no variation, and there is no negotiation. This fee document is the first to be shared with any party Aptec begins discussions with for the purpose of selling its services.
Why is Aptec doing this?
Earlier there were two classes of principal machinery vendors in India. Firstly, the overseas industry leaders who could supply a start-up capacity and take the buyer step by step to fully automatic high-speed plants. And secondly, the local suppliers who could initiate your growth, but were incapable of taking you beyond say 2500 BPH and were additionally incompatible with the technology of the leading vendors.
There was therefore invariably a break in the career of an Indian entrepreneur who reached the top capacity of local plants. He was required to sell the old equipment and begin afresh. Unless the client was wealthy, this often ended his career in this industry because he would lose his entire market during the changeover.
Therefore, it did not make sense for Aptec to associate itself on projects which envisaged total dependence on local vendors. Aptec did not envisage a clear growth path for them. Therefore, Aptec preferred to stay away from such projects. Even so, Aptec actively promoted sound design ideas for free download from its website and was happy to consult verbally and offer free-of-cost advice to vendors.
Why now?
All this has now changed. In the recent past Storm Engineering entered into some arrangements with Dutch Poultry Tech of Holland to promote refurbished equipment. And last month RND entered into an agreement with Baader to promote their line and manufacture some machines and components in India. While these may bring some degree of discomfort to established players operating in the Indian marketplace, in essence, these are good developments for the Indian poultry processing industry.
When one studies the history of poultry processing, one notices that although the three principals – Meyn, Marel and Baader-Linco have faced a number of local competitors all over the world, they have essentially retained their global market positions. They have done so by –
- Innovating to stay ahead of the game
- Presenting a strong financial barrier to entry – they have CNC machines while local competitors do not. Nor could they hope to have them because their volume of business remains small and it needs large turnover and financial muscles to acquire or access them. So local competitors continued to churn out non-expandable, non-modular machinery
- Rationalizing their sourcing policy, buying components and sub-assemblies from all over the world and farming out some of their manufacture to local associates. In doing so they could quickly remove technological incompatibilities, gain economies and transform to suit local needs instead of centralizing everything at astronomical EU wage costs.
Recent events mentioned above indicate that there will now be an increasing degree of technological compatibility in the Indian marketplace. More so as China is being viewed with suspicion and rising wage cost as a reliable and possible global manufacturing base and India is increasingly in favour.
Speaking as an Indian engineering and consulting company, we feel it would be a shame for Aptec to miss out on such an opportunity – partnering, on a case-to-case and non-exclusive basis, on projects that have the potential to transform poultry processing in India. This is the best way to serve the industry.
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